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Re: Ok... I need answers

since the bees keep the center of the cluster around 95 deg.all winter you broke up the cluster by opening up the hive and letting moister into the hive.the hive didn't have enough time to bring the temp back up or getting all the moister out instant freeze.leave hives shut in winter saves alot of head aches...sorry for your loss

Re: Ok... I need answers

Originally Posted by Mr.Beeman

Mike I appreciate the gesture.
The other loss was roughly one month prior and the scenario was the same.
Believe me, I looked and looked and looked for mites. I even used a 5x magnifying lens and then I used my flytying magnifier.... ever use one of those?! lol

A mite would look like it could chew your arm off through one of those! lol

Looking with magnification is helpful but still won't give you an indication of mite numbers. My experience is once you can visually see them you have got serious problems. Varroa are usually wedged totally out of sight in the joint between the thorax and abdomen. If you really want to learn something with your 5x magnification get a tweezer and begin pulling out pupae (either drone or worker) at about the purple eye stage. You will most likely be amazed at what you see.

Last edited by jim lyon; 01-10-2013 at 07:35 AM.

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe."- Andy Rooney

Re: Ok... I need answers

"Checked my hive today to find no live bees at all, maybe 300 dead. They were last checked (very quickly) on Dec.22 (it was warm temps) with tons of bees and stores. Stores are all there, no mites on the bottom board or feces, no AFB, no shb, conducted an alcohol wash on the dead bees.... nothing."

Re: Ok... I need answers

Originally Posted by beemandan

The idea that mites only infest hives that have been treated....

That is not what I am saying and I think you know it. If you are treating on a schedule meaning you treat whether there is a problem or not the bees become dependent on that treatment schedule. You miss the schedule and crash!

Re: Ok... I need answers

If you are treating on a schedule meaning you treat whether there is a problem or not the bees become dependent on that treatment schedule. You miss the schedule and crash!

The problem exists whether you treat for mites or not. Many of the treatment free proponents advise keeping enough nucs to make up for losses. The crash has nothing to do with whether or not your bees have been treated in the past.
When mites first arrived nobody’s bees were ‘dependent’ on a treatment schedule and they crashed all the same.
Don’t take this so personally Ace….remember I’m not supposed to believe anything you say… ….but if you post stuff that doesn’t make sense to me….it’s ok if I challenge it….isn’t it?
I’m chillin’….I hope you are too.

Dan www.boogerhillbee.com
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards